McGill Library
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 0C9
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Correspondence, WGP & TR
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- Textual record
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File
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Reference code
CA OSLER P142-A-A/M-5-4
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0.5 cm of textual records
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Name of creator
(1891-1976)
Biographical history
Born in Spokane, Washington, Wilder Penfield received his B.Litt. from Princeton University in 1913 and was a Rhodes Scholar in Oxford (B.A.1916). He received his M.D. from Johns Hopkins in 1918. Studying under Sir Charles Sherrington at Oxford, Penfield became interested in the brain. From 1921 to 1928 he engaged in research and neurosurgery at the Presbyterian Hospital and served on the Medical Faculty of Columbia University. Appointed to the Medical Faculty of McGill University in 1928, he was Chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery from 1934 to 1960. An endowment from the Rockefeller Foundation enabled him to establish the Montreal Neurological Institute (M.N.I.), which opened in 1934. At the M.N.I. Penfield made many innovations in neurosurgery including a surgical treatment for epilepsy. He devoted much of his research to the study of the physiology of the brain, speech memory and sensation. Besides his numerous scientific publications, Penfield wrote two novels and participated in a large number of professional organizations. Dr. Penfield was a member of the Board of Curators of the Osler Library.
Custodial history
Scope and content
The file contains correspondence primarily between Theodore Rasmussen and others discussing business of the McGill Teaching Curriculum Committee. The focus is on the curriculum, courses, and course schedules for the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, including handwritten notes about schedules and schedules of lectures, demonstrations and laboratory periods. In addition, there is correspondence on the distinction between full- and part-time students; the interest in cross-teaching neurology courses at the Montreal General Hospital and the Royal Victoria Hospital; the interest in integrating different disciplines further in courses; the future of Neuroanatomy and Neurophysiology; and correspondence with other medical teaching faculties about teaching programs, including a University of Saskatchewan teaching program outline.